Prince Engineer Ordered to Pay $4 Million for Attempt to Release Unauthorized EP

A year after the death of Prince, George Ian Boxill, one Prince’s engineers, attempted to release an EP of never before heard Prince songs that the two wrote and produced together. The EP titled Deliverance features six Prince songs recorded between 2006 and 2008. The songs were arranged, produced, and mixed by Boxill post recording. After Boxill announced that he wanted release the EP, Prince’s estate and Paisley Park filed a lawsuit against Boxill.  iTunes, Apple Music and Google Play featured the album on their sites, but in light of the lawsuit decided to ultimately pull the album.  

Prince’s Estate stated that Boxill violated a confidentiality agreement that explained that the recordings act as solely Prince’s property. Therefore, Boxill had no right and legal authority to release Deliverance according to Pitchfork . Additionally, Prince’s estate and Paisley Park were granted a restraining order so they could hinder the release of Deliverance.

Last year in August of 2018, in the case against Boxill, the court ruled against Boxill and in favor of Prince’s estate. Just recently, in Minnesota the decision was upheld. Now Boxill is being forced to pay almost four million dollars to the estate. To give some context, George Ian Boxill is an acclaimed mixer and one of the top engineers in the industry. He’s been sound mixing for years has worked on a number of Prince songs and works including “Future Baby Mama,” “Song of the Heart,” and his 31st studio album 3121. Additionally, Boxill has worked with many other pop artists including Tupac, Janet Jackson, Quincy Jones.

Marissa Conlon: I'm a current student at Occidental College and I'm stoked to be studying English and Politics. I've lived all around California and I'm humbled to be writing for mxdwn from Los Angeles. Music is one of my greatest passions and I've been studying music theory and styles for fifteen years. My favorite music genres include funk, classic jazz, and latin. Along with music my favorite things include creative writing, cartoons, and theater.
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